Elon students will present their writings, poems, songs and drama enactments about racial issues and ways to bridge the gap between races during “And Still We Rise: Considering Race” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 20 in Whitley Auditorium on the Elon University campus. The event is free and open to the public.
“And Still We Rise” is designed to give Elon students a meaningful forum to publish their creative work about the difficulty of addressing racial differences. More than 60 students, faculty and staff have submitted work for the event, which will be hosted by Rosa Johnson of Winston-Salem, N.C., the niece and archivist of renowned poet and author Maya Angelou. Johnson is working with students who have submitted work to make final preparations for “And Still We Rise.” Johnson attended an overnight retreat, sponsored by the English Majors Council, in early November to brainstorm with participants and help them develop their own understanding of the program and its possibilities.
“We want to ask students to bring their best thinking and creativity to the challenge of engaging across racial boundaries in thoughtful, imaginative, reflective and expressive ways,” says Jane Stephens, assistant professor of English and one of the program organizers. “We hope that by creating a public forum for student writers, we will do more than wallpaper over the difficulties associated with exploring race.”
Iris Chapman, assistant professor of English and director of Elon’s first year writing program, says, “This program gives students a chance to see first-hand the power of words to change themselves and the world.”
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